Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, but Cameron and Tyler are all mine and Glee can't have them...unless they ask nicely.
A/N: Daddy!Sam and Daddy!Mike and babies, oh my! I hope y'all like it!
Sam knew two things. One, Mercedes would absolutely kill him if she could see what he was doing right now. Two, what happened during boys' weekend, stayed in boys' weekend. It was a rule—or something like that.
Mike was the only other person in the house who could tell her anyway, and his best friend would never rat him out—especially considering he was complicit in this offense. Tina would kill him, too.
But, Mercedes and Tina were away for a much deserved girls' weekend, and wouldn't be back until that evening. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
"Babies, start your engines!" Mike yelled from his spot next to Sam on the couch, flailing his arms around in the air. The action caused the pair of two-year old boys standing across the living room from them to giggle.
Sam chuckled as he watched his t-shirt and diaper clad son rev up his arms and legs in place, just like he'd taught him earlier. Cameron looked up proudly after completing the motion and asked, "Daddy, I go?" His eyes were wide with eagerness and he pointed one tiny finger out ahead of him.
"Not yet, buddy. You gotta wait for Uncle Mike to say it," Sam answered with a smile.
"Okay," Cameron said, nodding his head enthusiastically. His untamed, honey-blond curls moved about his head at the motion. He shifted his alert eyes to Mike and waited.
"Get ready, get set, go!" Mike yelled—and the babies were off, hurtling their little bodies toward their fathers as fast as their little legs could carry them, which wasn't very fast at all.
It had rained the entire day before, so Sam had moved the coffee table out of the living room, and he and Mike turned the space into the perfect activity center for their cooped up kids.
It'd functioned as a dance floor—where Sam had tried to teach Cameron the famous Evans body roll and Mike focused on trying to get Tyler to pop-and-lock. The toddlers had been entirely uninterested in this and danced to the beat of their own drums. Spinning around in slow circles and sporadic knee-bending had been their preferred dance moves that day.
The first ever 'Evans-Chang Diaper Off' had made its debut in this space, with Sam and Mike racing each other to see how quickly they could get the boys changed. Mike ended up winning by a few seconds, but Sam still contended he'd only won because he skipped the baby powder.
It had also doubled as a gymnasium where Sam and Mike let the kids roll around and tumble to their hearts' content on the plush carpet. Any rolling around and tumbling they did themselves was simply to encourage the kids.
Currently the space was a race course, and the babies had been running up and down the room for the past fifteen minutes while their fathers egged them on from the couch.
It was awesome—at least Sam and Mike thought so. They knew their wives wouldn't be as thrilled—what with them using their children as competitors and all. But, again, Mike and Sam wouldn't tell—and Tyler and Cameron didn't know enough words to explain the activities they'd been engaged in all weekend. The secret was safe.
Cameron and Tyler giggled madly, closing the space between them and their dads in a quick succession of wobbly steps. Sam and Mike cheered them along all the way, scooping them up for celebratory hugs and kisses when they finally made it to the finish line.
Mike declared it a tie, but Sam was inclined to believe Cameron had won by a few seconds at least—though he kept this quiet. Mike would have demanded a rematch, and the way Cameron laid his head lazily on Sam's shoulder, told Sam the toddler was all tuckered out.
It would soon be time for a nap or Cranky Cam would make an appearance—and that was something to avoid at all costs. Cameron's sleep was not to be messed with. If he wasn't rested, he wasn't happy—and if he wasn't happy, he'd sure as hell make it known. He was his mother's child through and through.
With that in mind, Sam and Mike prepared the boys for lunch. Tyler's footed onsie stayed on, but Mike made sure to tame the boy's hair, which was currently sticking up at every angle. Cameron's hair could never be tamed, but a pair of jeans, socks, and baby Chuck's was added to his attire. Sam melted a little at the sight of his son wearing an outfit to match his.
Soon, the boys loaded the babies into their baby slings, already having decided on a picnic lunch at the local park. It was a warm and sunny day out, and after having spent the previous day locked inside because of the rain, Sam and Mike thought the boys could use some fresh air.
They walked down to the park side by side with the babies pointing and calling out everything they passed and knew the words for.
An Evans through and through, Cameron was friendly, and loudly said hello to everyone they came across on the way. Tyler followed suit, and Sam and Mike could only shake their heads and chuckle in amusement at all the attention the boys were getting.
Tyler and Cameron ate all of it up, offering each perfect stranger a toothy grin and a wave of their little hands.
The chuckles soon turned to full on barks of laughter, however, when one woman stopped and complimented them on their cute little family. "My brother and his husband just adopted a little girl," she told them, smiling brightly. "They're adorable," she sighed at Cameron and Tyler, then wished them a good day and was off.
Sam and Mike looked to each other for a minute, and then just burst into fits laughter. This spurred on the babies, making them laugh too, although they had no idea what was so funny.
"Well, I guess our wedding rings gave it away," Sam said laughing.
"Yeah, and you coming out here with Mercedes' purple-flowered sling probably didn't help," Mike said.
"Whatever. It makes Cam comfortable," Sam defended. As if to emphasize his father's point, Cameron laid his head back on his dad's chest and looked up at him. Sam laid a kiss on the boy's forehead then smiled when he felt Cameron's little hands on the sides of his face.
"You hungry?" he whispered and Cameron nodded slowly.
The boys enjoyed their picnic lunch, sitting on the grass in the warm sun, thinking it was the absolute perfect way to wrap up boys' weekend. Mike and Sam talked while they watched over their boys, making sure they didn't make too much of a mess with the food. Cameron was notorious for his ability to get food in the strangest places—his diaper and hair being his favorites.
After finishing his meal, and running a bit in the grass with Tyler, Cameron wandered over to his dad, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Sam knew the telltale sign. Naptime was upon them. Sam and Mike quickly packed up and made their way back to the house. Mike and Tyler said their goodbyes shortly after, heading back home to prepare for Tina's return.
Cameron already knew his naptime was coming by the time he and Sam made it upstairs to his room. He rubbed his eyes sleepily as he waited for Sam to let him out of the baby sling. Sam pulled off the toddler's sneakers and jeans before setting him down in his little bed.
Immediately, Cameron crawled to his favorite spot on the bed, grabbing his stuffed toy guitar, before he turned on his back. He was sleepy and he blinked lazily, but held the toy in his hands and looked at his father expectantly.
Sam knew what he was waiting for, but decided to play dumb and tease him. He chuckled when Cameron pouted a bit before saying, "Sing song."
Sam exaggerated a reaction, as if he suddenly remembered this was their routine. Cameron never went to sleep without a song. Sam and Mercedes would usually alternate, or sometimes they'd get really corny and sing him duets. It was Sam's favorite part of the day.
When Cameron was smaller, Sam had adored the times he got to feed him or put him to sleep. Cameron would lie cradled in his arms and simply look at him. No words ever needed to be said. He simply felt connected to his son in an intimate bond he'd never share with anyone else. As Cameron got older and more independent every day—though Sam was exceedingly awestruck and proud of every little thing his son did—he missed that intimacy.
The moments they shared during Cameron's bedtime songs brought that feeling back, and so Sam cherished every single time he got to do it—knowing a day would come all too soon when his baby boy would declare himself too old for it.
He grabbed his guitar, sitting on a chair next to Cameron's bed. As soon as he did, Cameron smiled and fixed his hands around the stuffed guitar he held, preparing to mimic his father's actions as he sang.
Sam sang through Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley, taking great effort not to choke up at the thought of singing this to Mercedes' belly before Cameron was born. Cameron would not take kindly to his song being interrupted for a bout of emotional tears—even if the tears were caused by an overwhelming love for him.
Sam powered through, and slowly Cameron's eyelids began to droop. His grip on his stuffed guitar slackened, and he was a goner before the last note. Sam gently put the guitar down, ran his hands gently through the toddler's messy curls, and kissed his forehead affectionately. "I love you, Cammy," he whispered, watching his son's soft inhales and exhales as he slept.
After tucking Cameron in with a blanket, Sam headed downstairs to clean up around the house before Mercedes' return in a couple of hours.
As much as he'd adored boys' weekend, he couldn't wait to see his girl again. The house—their bed, in particular—had definitely not been the same without her. She'd be hard-pressed to shake him or Cameron off for the next week when she got back.
An hour and a half later—a time that seemed like an eternity to Sam as he waited—Sam headed upstairs to wake Cameron from his nap. He made a note to remember to put the coffee table back after he'd given Cameron a snack. Mercedes was due back in within the hour and the errant coffee table would definitely raise an eyebrow.
Cameron was already stirring when Sam walked in and turned on the light in the room. This was good, because a Cameron that woke up on his own was a happy Cameron.
"How was your nap, Cammy? Did you sleep well?" Sam asked as the toddler sat up in his bed. Cameron started to nod his head, but the action was interrupted by an enormous yawn.
"You're gonna catch a fly with your mouth open that wide," Sam told him and laughed when the toddler's eyes widened comically mid-yawn. Cameron threw both hands up to cover his mouth.
"Shoo fly," Cameron said after a moment, swatting at an imaginary fly with his hand. They'd read him the book and sang him the song many times. Cameron apparently thought it was an effective way to get rid of the pests.
He didn't protest as Sam picked him up, simply rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, before laying his head on Sam's shoulder. He quietly went along for the ride downstairs.
Sam set him on his feet on kitchen floor, telling him he'd be right back, as he went to grab the snacks in the pantry. A juicebox and Graduates Puffs would do just fine. The strawberry-apple puffs were Cameron's favorite. Sam thought the way he stuffed them in his mouth, one tiny handful at a time, was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.
Grabbing the snacks, Sam stepped back out into the kitchen and his heart skipped a beat. The space where he'd left Cameron was now empty. In fact the entire kitchen was empty. He quickly dropped the snacks onto the table and looked underneath to make sure the toddler hadn't crawled under there to play. He hadn't.
Sam walked into the dining room next, and then the living room, the bathroom, and then the foyer—his throat getting drier with every empty room he left.
Although he knew it was impossible for Cameron to get past the baby gates, close them perfectly, and crawl his way upstairs, Sam ran upstairs and checked anyway.
He was crazed when he ran back downstairs, still without a sign of his son. He double checked every room in the downstairs area of the house, calling Cameron's name every which way he went. The boy never answered.
He checked the front and back doors, but both were still locked. Though Cameron was learning new mischief every day, unlocking a door and then locking it from the outside with a key was a bit much for a just barely two-year old to manage.
Sam stood in the kitchen in a panic. The entire weekend had gone so well. He'd stood there as Mercedes anxiously second-guessed going on the trip—she hadn't been away from Cameron that long since he was born—and promised her everything would be just fine. She would walk through those doors in the next twenty minutes, expecting to see her baby and he'd lost the baby.
With shaky hands, he picked up the landline and called Mike.
"I lost him," Sam said with a trembling voice the second Mike picked up the phone.
"What? You lost who?" Mike asked with a nervous laugh. He wanted to think Sam was playing some kind of trick, but Sam sounded really off.
"Cam! I lost Cam!" Sam said.
"What do you mean you lost him? Did you go back out?" Mike asked, already starting to lose his shit along with his friend.
"Lost who?" Sam heard Tina says and his heart dropped.
"Is that Tina?" he asked. Shit! If Tina was back, Mercedes would be back any fucking minute and he had lost the fucking baby! The first time he'd been allowed to assert all his responsibilities as a dad and he'd lost his child. How the hell was he supposed to tell Mercedes that? What the fuck was he supposed to—
Suddenly, a shifting sound under the sink caught his attention. Sam cut off whatever Mike was about to say on the phone, telling him to hang on. In a flash he was over to the kitchen cabinets, opening the one under the sink.
A pair of amused green eyes and a blinding smile on his son's face greeted him. He sat inside of one of the oversized pans Mercedes kept in the cabinet. "Hide and seek," Cameron said with a giggle, completely unaware of the years he'd just shaved off his father's life.
Sam reigned in his heightened emotions, explaining what happened to Mike, before returning his attention to his son. He mustered up the most unaffected tone he could, telling Cameron he'd done a really good job hiding, but should probably stay out of the kitchen cabinets from now on.
Sam safely placed the toddler in his high chair and went on about giving him his snack. Cameron happily stuffed tiny handfuls of his snack into his mouth, offering his dad some as well.
Seconds later, Mercedes was walking through the door, excitedly calling out their names. She practically ran into the kitchen when Sam answered her, kissing him quickly but firmly, before turning her attention to Cameron, who abandoned his food his favor of holding out his arms to his mother.
"Hi, Cammy!" she said taking the excited toddler into her arms. She hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes as Cameron went on babbling—the word 'momma' thrown in intermittently.
She turned back to Sam, still holding their son, and reached up to him for another kiss.
"I missed you guys," she said, giving him a hug when they finally pulled away. "How was the weekend? Did y'all have fun?"
Sam's eyes widened as he thought back to just a few minutes ago. Mercedes missed the look as she'd already turned back to Cameron.
"Huh, baby boy? Did you have fun with Daddy this weekend?" Mercedes asked in her baby voice, her face scrunched up in a smile.
"Yeah," Cameron said with a big grin, and Sam let that suffice. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Mercedes walked into the living room and stopped short, turning a questioning gaze on Sam who was walking along behind her.
"Where's the coffee table?" she asked.
"Oh!" Sam said a little too loudly as he remembered it. In the drama of the last twenty minutes he'd completely forgotten to return it to its place. "Uh, I was gonna vacuum. Lost track of time."
And the baby, Sam added silently.
Thus, he found himself vacuuming when he'd had no such intention, but what happened during boys' weekend, stayed in boys' weekend. It was a rule.
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